Scotland's birds of prey are being killed at an alarming rate

Golden eagle which went missing in Perthshire

MORE than twice as many birds of prey were confirmed victims of illegal persecution in 2019 compared to the previous year, according to a new RSPB report published today.

The "Birdcrime 2019" report reveals there were 28 confirmed, detected incidents of illegal persecution in Scotland last year.

The tally is more than double that recorded in 2018, when there were 12 confirmed crimes against raptors – and nearly six times the 2017 total of just five cases north of the Border.

The RSPB said the figures were just "the tip of the iceberg" however, as many illegal killings went undetected or unreported.

They are likely to include "multiple" satellite tagged raptors that disappeared in suspicious circumstances, but were never recovered.

The annual Birdcrime report - which summarises known offences against birds of prey across the UK - showed there were 85 confirmed incidents in total, including 48 in England, six in Wales and three in Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, they included ten buzzards, five red kites, four goshawks, two sparrowhawks, two hen harriers and one iconic golden eagle as well as four cases where the species was not revealed.

There were at least 14 shooting incidents, six cases where birds were illegally trapped and five in which they were poisoned with banned pesticides.

RSPB Scotland said its data showed that criminal activity was "almost exclusively linked to land managed for intensive driven grouse shooting".

Confirmed victims in Scotland included a male hen harrier illegally trapped on its nest in South Lanarkshire; a female hen harrier found dead in a similar trap in Perthshire; a third hen harrier found shot in Dumfriesshire; and a golden eagle seen and photographed in Aberdeenshire, with a trap hanging from its leg - and thought certain to have died as a result - all of which were on or close to grouse moors.

RSPB Scotland said the findings showed that "self regulation of the grouse shooting industry has failed", and called for new legislation to halt illegal killings.

They said greater accountability was also "vital" as convictions for offences were rare, and jail sentences rarer still, following only six jail sentences in 30 years in the UK - five of which were suspended.

Last year there was only one criminal conviction for the illegal killing of birds of prey in the whole of the UK; a gamekeeper in the Scottish Borders, sentenced to unpaid community work and given a Restriction of Liberty Order after pleading guilty to shooting and trapping badgers, an otter, goshawks and buzzards, possessing a banned poison and installing illegal snares.

RSPB Scotland said: "Sadly, and despite Scotland’s birds of prey species being protected for decades, improvements in legislation and other government initiatives, as well as long-term attempts at partnership working between statutory agencies, conservationists and the grouse shooting industry, there is no evidence of a decline in the level of these crimes.

"Piecemeal action has not been enough; urgent action and a meaningful deterrent to illegal behaviours against some of our most vulnerable and highly protected species is needed now."

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s Head of Investigations said: "The very clear pattern of bird of prey persecution cases occurring on Scotland’s driven grouse moors has been repeated year after year, and as Birdcrime 2019 outlines shows no sign of abating.

"Indeed, even during the COVID-19 lockdown this year, these crimes have continued, as has the predictable campaign of denial and misinformation from a grouse shooting industry that has demonstrably and repeatedly failed in its attempts at self-regulation.

"The recent recovery of a satellite-tag from a golden eagle, wrapped in lead sheeting and thrown into a river, is unequivocal proof not only of serious, organised crime, but also the lengths to which the perpetrators of these offences will go to dispose of evidence and cover up these crimes.

"It is long overdue that the Scottish Government ends this appalling cycle of destruction of our natural heritage, by enacting a licencing system for grouse shooting, with immediate effect."